Monster Crown: Sin Eateris an ambitious sequel to match its predecessor, with the game bringing back many of the same systems and promising to make them bigger and better than before. Despite only heading for its second entry, theMonster Crownseries has already carved out a definitive identity as a moreadult alternative to monster-taming games likePokemon.
Monster Crown: Sin Eaterwill feature a wider array of monsters, along with more polished system mechanics to support this. Similar to many other games in the genre,Sin Eateris defined as much by its exploration as it is by its monsters. Game Rant spoke with programmer Kyle Toom and “Monsterologist” RacieB, among others, about how Studio Aurum plans to bring its new monsters to life inMonster Crown: Sin Eater.
How Monster Crown: Sin Eater Creates an Immersive Ecosystem of Diverse Monsters
Monster Crown: Sin Eaterfeatures monsters that express a variety of behaviors in the wild. Some are quick to flee from danger, while others act more aggressively towards the player. Toom explained the details of this system from a programming perspective, including how real-life animal behavior influenced his methods:
“It is very important to me that the monsters feel a little less predictable than players initially expect. For this, I have a lot of levers to pull to really dial in individual monster personalities. One such lever is the fact that each monster has its own vision cone and vision radius! In real life, it’s pretty common for prey animals like rabbits to have nearly 360 degree vision while us humans have a mere 180 degrees, for instance. you may see this in how Apo very quickly sees and flees from you, while the slow-moving Teedon mostly ignores you unless you get in its way.”
Meanwhile, RacieB elaborated on what this means for the game’s artistic direction. RacieB explained howMonster Crown: Sin Eaterhopes to genuinely emulate acomplex ecosystemthrough each monster’s interactions with the player, as well as their behaviors towards each other.
“I’m a big fan of virtual life systems and really want to give the feeling that you’re exploring an ecosystem, so it’s important to me to give our wild monsters different kinds of procedural reactions to their environment. In the full game, this is also planned to expand to include different types of interactions with the player, such as nocturnal stalking behaviors or predator/prey relationships between different species of wild monsters.”
After establishing the function of the system, as well as its inspirations, both members of the team spoke about their intentions for players. Realistic immersion is one thing, but intuitive understanding is another. Thankfully, both Kyle and RacieB demonstrated that the player’s understanding of these diverse personalities was equally important. Kyle assured that the behavioral differences are meant to spice up a playthrough, not disrupt exploration, with RacieB adding,
“Players should be able to observe wild monsters to figure out the best way to approach (or avoid) them. Is this monster a carnivore, a herbivore? Is it unbothered by your presence, or has the time of day made it more aggressive than usual? Is it more interested in chasing something else? In at least one instance, a normally dangerous species will even ignore you if you happen to be riding one of their own.”
This further demonstrates the importance of approaching the game’s monsters like a genuine ecosystem. Players should already be familiar with what most animals act and look like, andMonster Crown:Sin Eater’s monster designsfollow this familiarity. This not only makes the game a more interesting experience during exploration but helps players never feel like they are too far out of their depth.
